Multiple Vegas casinos and bars hit

Las Vegas police are asking the public for help in tracking down four thieves suspected of stealing cash boxes from slot machines housed in multiple gaming venues in the valley.

On January 13, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD)’s Northeast Area Command published a crime alert notice on Facebook, stating it had received “several reports from various casinos and bars that have been burglarized”:

The notice lists two Hispanic males, one Hispanic female, and another suspect referred to as a “white female”. A surveillance image of the fourth criminal is attached, along with a description of how she would sit at the gambling terminal and proceed to “[‘pick/manipulate’]” the machine door lock, take the cash box, and leave the premises.

Sin City businesses urged to be vigilant

The Northeast Area Command also advised businesses with slots to conduct frequent room and slot machine scans, as well as to “acknowledge each patron/customer as they enter/exit the business.” Police also urged Las Vegas gaming facilities to ensure that recording capabilities on surveillance systems are operational, and to report crimes immediately.

In related news all the way over in the East, a court on Tuesday arraigned Philadelphia man Malik Williams on charges of destroying a gambling machine to steal around $11,000. The incident, captured on surveillance cameras and published on YouTube by the Bensalem Police Department, shows two suspects. One, who is still at large, attacks the machine with a sledgehammer.

The theft occurred at a Sunoco gas station in Bensalem, a township in Bucks County, Pennslyvania, on November 19, 2020. As in Vegas, Bensalem police also appealed to the public to help it track down the two suspects. According to local daily newspaper The Bucks County Courier Times, tips received by police helped to identify Williams as the “lookout” in the robbery process.

Meanwhile, back in Vegas

Also in Vegas this week, a woman who chose an alternate route to crime than gaming machines received a three-year sentence in a federal prison for her role in a $9m mail fraud scam. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Andrea Burrow, 50, was among six Sin City residents charged in 2019. She issued a guilty plea in August 2020, admitting conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

scam preyed mostly on the “elderly and vulnerable”

Following Wednesday’s verdict, the Nevada US attorney’s office said Burrow is the first to receive a sentence in connection with the case. In a January 13 statement, Nevada US Attorney Nicholas Trutanich informed that the scam preyed mostly on the “elderly and vulnerable”, who were told they could claim large cash prizes after paying fees of up to $30.

Trutanich added that the office is committed to cracking down on similar fraudulent operations.